I got my helmet for the track day. Just, just fit in the car with it with the seat a comfortable position. GrpAGT4 sent me some pics of his old wheels. They're white, which would look shit on my car, but i'm sure(fingers crossed) they could be sandblasted and powdercoated.

I gotta quit smoking too. I've got a shopping list as long as my arm for this car, so its time to trade one addiction for another (i'm not sure which one the missus would prefer either!).

Damn voltage leaks. Been chasing it down for a some time and thought i had it, but i did some voltage monitoring at the battery and sure enough it still there. Batt was 11.8v at 1230pm, then 11.49v at 1.30pm then 9.53 at 230pm. When the last owner put in the stereo they did a hell of a spaghetti hatchet job was well.

So i got the car all cleaned up yesterday and went for a nice hour long drive by myself around McClaren Vale and Kangarilla. With no stereo it was good to listen to the engine, as i'm still not familiar with its particular sounds. Still having elect problems though. I pulled in to the shops after the cruise and turned the car off, put alarm on, came out, turned alarm off, go start and nothing. No electrical power at all. A quick disconnect and connect of the neg terminal got me going though.

If your car has a weak point the race track will find it. It was track day, so i did push the car hard, but somewhere on a clunky gearchange i must have over-revved - street driving i only go 5000, but i must have went to the redline or past it. There was a tinkle and i did feel something wrong so i headed in and that ended the day(morning ). Leaving the track, about 10k's down the road something went. I couldn't get it past 40kph, clutch in stalled it so i motored along to the main road which is has hi-speed trucks on it, pulled it up and waited around 1 hour for towtruck.

Once home i started it up and you should have seen the towtruck drivers eyes bulge out at the noise of it! Now its in the garage safe and sound. Tomorrow i shall drain the oil and see if i get metal.

If it is though, as i said on the CCCSA chat, I have a ST205 gen3 block (pistons, crank, etc all in it, have not been touched) left over that i need to sell.It would get you going again fairly quickly.

Cheers for the offer Mark. Money is a bit short at the moment and i'm sure the missus wouldn't be to happy about me splashing cash onthe car before xmas. I pulled the plugs and had a peep into the chamber - Covered in oil on cyl 1(closest to alternator or is it cyl 4?) the others were normal. Intercooler and turbo were free of oil.

No probs. Shit time of the year for something like this to happen Closest to the alt is Cyl1.

You might as well start stripping it down, find out exactly what the damage is. Pull off the head first.With any luck youll be able to get it running again with a few new parts... though it sounds like itll be a full rebuild jobbie

Rip engine out of car and strip it down to find the problem. Fingers crossed it repairable for less than $1500. New engine mount rubber all around at the minimum.Dress the engine bayDrop engine back in and get it going again.

If it is a serious problem then get 205 half cut (hopefully). If i have to go a 205 engine then i'll consider getting a vipec ecu and e85.

Oh well i guess my interior will have to wait another year.

edit - Then there is the gearbox - which is why i favor a 205 half cut. At the least i'm assuming my syncro's need replacing as well as the cables, bushings, rubber etc.

Aim straight for the 205 conversion.I know its difficult since the car is a daily, but itll very much be worth it in the long run.

Might be a good idea to get in contact with Lawrence from the club.He'll be doing a 205 into 185 conversion sometime in the next month or so.Might be a good idea to observe how it goes so you can pick up some tips for if/when you do yours.

Ifi was to do it again I'd go patch harness as much as possible though some sensors need to be swapped so ya have to cut and solder. But u want to use the 185 harness. I got an Aussie bgb I can photo copy the stuff I used if it helps u?